Gwyn
by Gwynned Ryuushin Mazi
Summary: character back story for Second Life. all characters copyright their players. Contains adult themes and situations. No disrespect is meant to anyone, and understand that this is a work of FICTION. Does not reflect my views. D/s, Drama, military, magic.


Na Scéal dar dàta Gwynedd Ryuushin Mazi

A story of the life of a teenage sorceress

Part 1: The Early Years

Introduction: The Crazy Times

Things look different when you're insane. I don't mean acid-trip different, just….off. The colors seem sharp in odd places, and most of the time only one thing is in focus, and it's not always the thing you want to look at. Sometimes you don't even see what's in front of you, you see something behind you, or in the next room, or half a world away where a butterfly is flapping its wings and ruining some poor teacher's field trip over here in Japan.

That's where I am right now, Japan, Osaka prefecture, Osaka Middle School. I'm just your average half-Japanese girl, teased a bit at school for being half-Irish, but it's turned from malicious to good-natured this last year as I finally managed to make some friends. Well, I would be average, except for the fact that I'm what I would later come to describe as "bat-fuck insane." Oh, and I can control lightning. It's the little details that get you, right?

It had been another day; I woke up to my mother yelling at me and my alarm going off for the third time, and my little brother whining that his toast didn't have enough butter. I swear softly as I jump out of bed and toss on yesterdays uniform that's draped across the chair by my desk. I would swear loudly, but mother doesn't approve of me yelling, it's "not lady-like". Mother is old-fashioned Japanese, convinced that girls should be submissive little creatures who never raise their voices, never speak in anything but the most polite whisper, and do as their told, always. God knows how my father, who's dyed-in-the-wool Irish, puts up with her. I think it happened after a date night where things got heavy, and the next morning she rolled out of bed, jumped on her menstrual cycle and ran him over, it's the only explanation I can come up with that makes any sense.

So, I'd grabbed the piece of toast my little brother was complaining over, my briefcase by the door, stepped into my shoes, and took off down the sidewalk, to a shouted admonition from my mother that 'ladies don't run!'. I ignored her, waving over my shoulder to show I'd heard her, or she'd just scream louder. I kept running, slowing down when I was out of sight and earshot. I had plenty of time; if I left when Mother wanted me to I'd get there at least a half hour before homeroom started. As it was, I'd get there about five minutes beforehand, early enough. I was about halfway there, when I remembered I'd left my History homework sitting on my desk. I swore again, loud this time, and turned back, pelting full tilt all the way home.

When I got there, I noticed Mother's car was gone. _Odd…she usually doesn't leave until Takumi has to go to school…_ I shrug and head up the steps. Mother had this obsession with being as early as possible, or she might have gotten sick of his screaming and decided that if he wasn't going to appreciate her work, he could do without breakfast. It wouldn't be the first time she'd done that. As I reach the door and go to put my key in the lock, I notice a note on the door, with my name on it. I take it off and open it, and start reading.

_Ryuushin-_

_We've had enough. We can't bear living a…freak like you anymore. There's money on your desk, on top of your history homework, and an ad with some jobs. Good luck._

_Mom, Dad, Tak._

It takes a minute for it to register. On autopilot, I open the door, and go into my room, still staring at the curt, cold note. I mean, I might not have been the ideal daughter, but they were my family. I thought my Dad, at least, would never leave me like that, even being a devout Catholic, I knew he loved me. He always had, this had to be a bad joke, or something Mother did to punish me, there was no way…..The sound of the phone ringing makes me jump, I start to answer it, but stop, letting the machine pick up. The voice that comes after the tone is my uncle, Aidan. I'd only met him a handful of times, Mother didn't like him.

"_Mike! Dammit, pick up your bloody phone! What the hell is going on? What was that call about earlier? Why do you want me to take care of Ryuu? DAMMIT, Michael, TELL me you didn't let that harpy convince you to leave her! You KNOW what she's capable of! Siobhan was-"_

There's a beep, and the machine cuts him off, and that's when it hit me. My parents, my family, the only family I had, the people I'd loved more than anything, had just packed up and left me. I crumpled the note in my hand, still unable to believe it. I ran through the house, checking all the rooms, and sure enough, empty, except mine. I slowly walked back to my room, and went into my closet, where I thought I heard some whispering. I threw the door open, expecting to see them hiding there, all ready to jump out and shout "April fool!" or SOMETHING, wishing it was all a sick joke. Instead I just see my closet, with a red box in the bottom. It's that box-no, what's in the box that's whispering to me. Everything goes blurry, and the box is thrown into sharp relief. I open it, and inside there are two jet-black gauntlets, with a bit that goes onto my palm, a pressure switch. I slide them on, and press the switch, giggling at the _snick-click_ sound the blades make as they spring out. I tilt my head, to hear them whispering, and nods my head

"I know my little ones. My pretties. You're thirsty….you haven't had anything to drink in so long….well, it's cruel to deprive little ones…..let's get you something to drink…" I giggle again, and keep my fingers on the switches as I thrust my arms forward, the points of the blades digging into the wall a bit as I push them back into the gauntlets. I head back for the school, money, briefcase and homework forgotten, sparks occasionally arching across my hair, little motes of light dropping to the floor. I'm not running, there's no hurry, I have all day. As I walk to the door, I pass a mirror, turning to look at my reflection, my long jet-black hair falling in a mane down to the small of my back. I giggle again, running a finger down the mirror, then whipping my elbow out and shattering it, ignoring the rip in my blouse from the glass and the blood starting to drip down my arm. I got out the door, leaving it wide open, ignoring the stares as I walk to school, the time is 8:17 am.

A few seconds later, at 8:30, half an hour after homeroom starts, I open the door to the classroom. My teacher, Ozeki-sensei, looks up and frowns behind his spectacles

"Mazi-kun, you're-my god what happened? Why didn't you go to the nurse?" he starts walking towards me, looking at my elbow. I stare at him, then giggle, high-pitched and loud. Now everybody is staring at me, and a few people look scared. One runs out through the other door. No matter, I'll get him later.

"They're thirsty." I whisper when I stop giggling. Ozeki-sensei stops and looks at me, then frowns more and takes another step forward, using his best dis-approving teacher voice that always made me wince and obey before. Things are different when you're insane, though.

"Mazi-kun, you're late. Take your seat. Now."

"But….they're thirsty…." I look at him as if he's simple, why couldn't the fool understand! They're not whispering anymore, they're shouting! Wailing just like that little shit Takumi! The blades on my wrists want blood.

"Who's thirsty, Mazi-kun? Is this some kind of prank? What's wrong with you? Why are you bleeding?"

Idiot…do I have to explain EVERYTHING to him? I hold up my arms, and caress the switches on my palms, and again there's that oh-so-satisfying _snack-click_ as my claws show themselves.

"My blades, are thirsty…." I say softly, my hair hiding and shadowing my face as the sheep issue a collective gasp…yes, that's what they all are, sheep. Sheep to be herded, guided, then sheared into the shape that some un-named and faceless power wants…but I'm not a sheep…I'm the butcher, and there's a LARGE order for mutton….

Ozeki is gibbering. It's annoying. My arms move on their own, slashing his throat. Some little idiot in the room screams. Stupid sheep, bleating like that. If they stayed quiet, I might over look them. Instead they insist on vainly trying to call a warning to the rest of the herd, and I cut them all down, leaping from one to the next like some kind of demented cat from hell. I giggle and squeal with joy as their blood splashes all over me, and when I silence the last of them, I lick my blades, moving out into the hall. The kendo club is waiting for me. Fools, their bamboo swords haven't even parted by the time I finish cutting them down, splattering blood all over the hall. I giggle again and start singing as I walk down the hall, my blades already dripping. I'm singing some old folksong my father used to sing to me.

_The road is waiting my child_

_My child, the road is waiting my child_

I've reached the next class room. I throw open the door and don't even wait for the first scream before I leap on the teacher. When I'm done and go back into the hall, there are more people waiting for me. The Judo club this time, they go down faster than the Kendo club had.

Fools…never grapple with someone who has a sword strapped to each wrist, and is a lot faster than you. Sheep, all of them, stupid sheep, better off as chopped lamb for the stewpot…I walk the halls and classrooms, wreaking death and destruction. On the third level, my own club, simply known as the Martial Arts club, is waiting. At their head, the Captain, my Captain, Takeshi Azumi-senpai. He towers over me, his short black hair spiked in every direction; He wears blades like my own. I help him run the club.

"A-zu-mi-sen-pai…." I say, haltingly, coming back to sanity for a moment, looking up at him, then down at myself, eyes going wide "wha-…"

"No games, Mazi-chan. why? Why are you disgracing yourself and those blades with this? What happened?"

I look back at him, shaking my head "Senpai I…why am I at school? I went home to get my homework…and…and the note, and Uncle Aidan…." as I'm talking, I'm vaguely aware of the sound of footsteps behind me, and then I hear a voice bark out

"POLICE! PUT THE BLADES DOWN! EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR!"

Immediately, the world goes dark, and when it comes back into focus, Azumi is on his knees, his blades on the floor before him, staring up at me, gently urging me to do the same. Stupid sheep, even him. He could take those idiots with his eyes closed and one hand tied behind him. Now the rams are here, vainly trying to defend their lambs. They're bleating too, but instead of the terrified ejaculations of the flock, their nasal voices are full of defiance. I turn, and stare at them.

_Snick-clack._

Their body armor makes them harder to kill, but they're not wearing neck-guards. None of them live to learn from the folly. When I'm done, I look down at my leg, and a bullet hole is oozing in my thigh. I hadn't even felt it hit. It hurts, bad. Ignore it, the sheep are bleating again, and that fool Azumi has his blades back on. I leap for him, and he spins away, but for some reason he's slow. I'm already there when he stops, and I bury my blades in his gut, slicing him in two when I spread my arms. The rest fall like so many toy soldiers at a shooting gallery. I black out again, there are more screams, more blood, pathetic cries to be spared. Then another voice intrudes, this one is calm, unafraid, gentle, and warm. I look up, and smile

"Yo, Daisuke. What's up?" my voice sounds normal, as if I'm not standing there covered in blood and gore. So does his, point for him.

"Yo, Ryuu. I was going to ask you the same….hun, what's happened? Why are you doing this? Let's get those blades off and go talk somewhere…go catch a movie or something…" He smiles back at me, and steps forward, holding out his hand. He almost has one of the gauntlets, when a voice in my head shrieks

_NO! No, killkillkill! We're still thirsty! MORE!_

_Click-snack_

He screams as his hand falls, but only until my follow-through takes him across the throat. He falls, and starts begging hoarsely, please, talk to him, why am I doing this, please let him live, please, he loves me, please. My next stroke takes his head…..and all the strength runs out of my body, and the voice is quiet, and I'm left staring at my fiancé's corpse, covered in the blood of half of my school, as another squad moves in, wearing heavy armor, and takes me into custody, taking my blades and trussing me up so I can barely move an inch. That's when I panic, which makes it worse. It's bad when I panic, I completely lose control.

I'm told it took them the better part of a year just to clean up the rubble. I shake off the charred remains of my restraints, and start walking again, completely numb. I don't even register where I am until I run into a light brown jacket, and look up into a familiar face and a sad smile

"Sorry, lass" Uncle Aidan says gently as he puts a hand on the back of my neck "Ye'll thank me fer this one day…" I feel another mind in my own, those voices waking in my head again, and then the other mind breaks over mine like a wave, and I knew nothing for a while, except the nightmares that always ended with me staring at Daisuke's corpse.

Chapter 1: The Learning Time

I'm still not sure how long I was crazy. I remember flashes, and I remember being tied to my bed a lot in a room with everything lined in the kind of rubber they use to insulate industrial power lines, heat resistant and utterly non-conductive. My first clear memory is of waking up in something out of a sci-fi movie, all fluorescent light and blinking displays and my Uncle Aidan sighing in satisfaction and saying

"There…tha' should take care of it, for now…poor thing…she'll have t' deal wi' it all sooner or later, bu' this'll let me teach her wha' she needs t' know…" he smiles and leans over me "hello little lass. Ye've been away fer a good long while, but it'll all be okay. Now sleep, the nightmares won't be back."

It sounded like a great idea, and I smile back at him, giving him a weak hug before slipping into the first untroubled sleep in what felt like an eternity.

I woke to birds, and sunlight. Something I hadn't done for ages. For a single, panicked moment, I thought _oh SHIT! I'm late for school! _Then the memories came back…there was some sort of gas leak or something at school, and some idiot in the science lab lit a match, blowing the place to hell, taking most of the students with him. _Including Daisuke... _I feel the loss but it's….detached. At one remove. I shake my head and sit up, stretching and yawning. As soon as I make noise, there's a knock at the door.

"Are ye' awake, lass? Would ye like some breakfast?" it's Uncle Aidan, and with that thought, the memory of Mom and the others leaving also comes back, but at the same remove as Daisuke….

"Come on in, Uncle….not like I sleep naked, and even if I did, it's not anything you haven't seen before." That would have shocked Mother to hear. It was also true; my uncle was more of a father to me than the man who raised me was. Aidan was the one who helped raise me for the first ten years of my life, while my father was away in the military. Once Takumi was born, he left, however. Or was driven off by Mother. I don't think he'd have just left like that, no matter what Mother said.

"Ah now, lass. Ye should take more care of yer privacy, aye? Gettin' to the age where it's not right for me to be seein' ye wi' out yer clothes." Uncle says gruffly as he walks in. He's carrying a tray of food, still warm. _How he manages that..._ I think to myself, wondering about it. I start running my hands through and over my hair, checking for tangles, smoothing it out and starting to gather it up to braid, but then I let it fall in a mane over my shoulder. I look up at Uncle, and down at my breakfast. Steak and eggs, with a small, sharp knife to cut the steak. It had a smooth edge. It was enough. Before he could stop me, I dart my hand out and grab the knife, gathering my hair into a ponytail and pulling it back, forcing my head up and back, and with one swift sure stroke, put an end to my life of pain.

The mass of hair drifts to the ground. Aidan managed not to upset the tray when he stood to try and stop me. Now he's glaring.

"Th' next time ye want a haircut, ye ask me, aye? I'll have no more foolishness wi' knives. Eat your breakfast, I'll go find my spare shears, an' we'll give ye a proper cut."

"Yes Uncle," I reply quietly, looking down, reveling in my new short hair, then back up to meet his eyes "Do you still have that blue die we were planning to use this summer?"

He smiles, nodding. "Aye. I don't see any harm in using it a bit early, either, aye?"

I nod again "yes please, Uncle. If you think it'll look good."

He looks at me oddly a moment, but then smiles again and nods. "Aye lass, I think it'll look perfect on ye." He ruffles my hair as he goes, leaving the tray behind and the door open. I eat with gusto, realizing that I'm suddenly starving, and when I finish the last bite, he comes back with some scissors, and a dye kit. "Go take a shower, an' wash yer hair good and proper, otherwise this stuff won't take. Go on now." He sets them on the dresser and busies himself with the preparations, tying on a long white apron, arranging the gleaming tools of his trade.

Uncle owns a barber shop in town, though he rarely has to take a shift there anymore. He employs various young people from the village who've lost their parents, or would otherwise be at a disadvantage. Obviously, the ones that become stylists have to want that, but Uncle also lives on a farm, so he can take in the rest of the youngsters too, apprentice them, teach them one of the many trades he knows, and send them back into the world with all the tools they need to make a good life. I think he started when he got back from Japan.

I close the door and strip off the oversize shirt and a pair of fabric shorts, stepping into the shower, yelping and jumping back as the water comes out cold before warming up. I hear my uncle chuckle from the other room, and suddenly blush. I wash quickly, wondering at all the bruises turning spectacular colors from my rampage at the school. _Where did those come from?_ I walk out with my hair dry, but slicked back, bouncing behind me even pulled tight into a pony-tail

"There's a good lass, have a seat" He motions to the only chair in the room, a sun bleached wicker affair that's a lot more comfortable than it looks. I sit and he gathers my hair behind me. "Ready?" he asks, and I nod as best I can. Then I hear the hiss of a dagger being drawn, and my eyes go wide.

"Uncle?" I ask, letting the fear into my voice, and he suddenly yanks my hair down, forcing my head back. I see the flash of the blade, and close my eyes…..and feel it hit my hair and slice it like it was butter, parting the strands easily. I open my eyes, ready to tear into my Uncle with a verbal tirade that'd make a sailor blush, when he says softly

"With this shoring, I grant ye a new life. Let this blade guide ye in all things, an' let it one day grant ye th' strength t' gain peace." I hear a _shiiiick-clack_ of a sword sliding home in a wooden sheath, and turn my head, marveling in the feeling of the perfection of each stand of hair, as if he'd cut them individually with his shears, and see my uncle holding a jet-black _saya_, the hilt of the katana wrapped in black silk ribbon, capped in stainless steel, with a red tassel on the end. He holds to sword out to me, and I take it.

"Where….where did you get this?" I ask, feeling the familiar weight in my hand. I preferred my wrist-blades, but I had started out with a katana.

"'twas a gift, from my sister fer ye." he says with an odd smile. Part nostalgia, part gentle regret.

"Your sister? I didn't know I had an aunt…" I look up at him, all innocence. I wasn't as quick back then as I came to be.

"An' ye don't, lass. Ye'll find out when th; time comes, I expect. Come along, an' bring yer sword. Never leave it lyin' around, lass, always keep it with ye." his voice sounds grim, and completely serious. I nod, holding the sword in my hand. "Meet me in th' yard as soon as ye're dressed. Wear clothes ye kin move an sweat in." I nod again, spotting my suitcase in the corner. I open it, pulling out a pair of old pants and a long-sleeve shirt. I put these on quickly, over a sports bra, taking Uncle at his word. I walk out into the yard, carrying my sword, to see something so odd that my mind literally failed to register it a moment.

_They're…fighting?_

Boxing, rapier, and Long Sword dominate. There is a small group fumbling their way through a karate manual, and one lone student with a Katana, also Japanese, practicing on his own, who looks like he has the forms pretty well. I spot my Uncle, and just look at him with a raised eyebrow

"Branching out, Uncle?" I ask as he steps up beside me. "Last time I checked, barbers and farm boys don't need to know how to swing a sword." he smiles down at me, chuckling. I got my dry sense of humor from my father, a trait his brother apparently shares.

"'Tis been a painful long time since I took on any normal orphans, Ryuu-lass. These duckies are like ye. Special, ye ken?"

It was the first time anyone called me Ryuu. Interesting how these nicknames stick. I look up at him and grin.

"Special, eh? Well, let's see if you can teach them to fight as well as you can teach them to cut hair." I walk over to the group struggling with the karate book, setting my sword down on a nearby bench, and turn and block a clumsy kick, smiling at the young boy. They all stop and stare at me.

"If you do it like that," I step in and tap the back of his leg with my shin, and he topples. I catch him and ease him down "that'll happen every time." I pick him up, then shift around behind him, correcting his stance "Start like this, knees bent a little, up on the balls of the toes…and then," I step to the side and a little in front of him, dropping into my stance, then pivoting and whipping my leg out in a perfect spinning back kick, nailing the pells they were using for a practice dummy with a dull _thud,_ and a kiai that made most of them wince, and a few others turn to look, including the young man with the katana. I turn back to them and smile.

"My name is Ryuu; I'm Aidan's niece, from Japan. Nice to meet you all." I bow, letting my newly dyed hair fall forward, and thoroughly enjoying the looks of amazement-and no few blushes-they give me. I straighten, Uncle clears his throat, and everyone continues with their exercises as normal. Don't ask me why I decided to help them, even back then I was inclined to share my knowledge, and I've always been something of a leader, to varying degrees.

The time passed like that for a while. I taught the little I could, learned more than I thought possible, both about fighting and about my power, which I came to learn, was actually a form of magick, and slowly came to accept the fact that I was death on two legs. I wasn't quite that confident back then, but the seed was planted, and as anyone can tell you, it's sprouted, and flourished, in recent years. This is where things become too recent, and altogether too painful, for me to narrate them as current. Please excuse to tense change.

I spent three happy years like that, and slowly, a relationship grew between myself and that young man with the Katana. His name was Riku. Maybe it was the fact that he was Japanese, maybe it was how he reminded me of Daisuke, but was different enough so he didn't trigger flashbacks, I'm not sure. All I know is he was the biggest mistake I made in my life. Despite my willful side, I've always been intrigued by the whole BDSM thing, and Riku brought it to the fore. He was the first person I ever wore a collar for.

I remember when it started. We'd been dating for about six months, and we were in my bedroom, talking. He'd brought a black backpack with him, and refused to let me look in it. I could tell he wanted to talk about something, and it had something to do with the bag.

"Come onnnnn, Ri-chan! What's in the bag? You're as tense as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs." I snuggled into him, smiling up at him, sitting on my bed cross-legged, and wearing a tank-top and shorts in the Irish summer. He blushed madly and pulled away a bit, looking at me a long moment.

"Ri-chan? What's wrong?" I asked, leaning forward, a little concerned now. He only looked at me like that when he was really worried, and it had something to do with me, I can tell. He wore the same look when he first asked me out.

"Ryuu….." he started, then stopped, and took a deep breath "would you like…can I-" he cuts off, and now I've started to get really worried. Usually I couldn't get him to shut up, so to have him suddenly tongue-tied had me more than a little afraid.

"Come on, hun," I encouraged, smiling at him "you know you can ask me anything." I chuckled, secure in my naivety and faith that he'd never hurt me. Hey, I said was slow back then, okay? Finally, after another long moment of staring at me, he screwed up his courage and asked the question that would change my life forever.

"Have you ever been," he swallowed nervously "tied up?"

I looked at him a moment, trying to decide if he were serious.

"No…." I answered, not entirely sure I wanted to ask my own question. "Why?"

"I was wondering…y'know…if you'd like to um…try it? It's okay if you don't, nothing changes between us…" He was good, I'll give him that. Somehow, I'd never heard the rumors of what he'd done to some of the other girls, and neither had Uncle. I think they were scared of Riku, and figured I could handle myself if he got out of control. With the bumbling lack of confidence act, he had me hooked. Bastard.

I looked at him for a while again, secure in my innocence, and happy in my ignorance.

"Like…right now?" I asked, and he nodded, gesturing to the black bag. I knew what he was talking about. I had my own computer, after all, and like I said, I already had leanings that direction.

"Sure," I smile at him as a look of relief washes over his face. "Do it any way you like, I trust you." His eyes light up at that, like I'd given him a Christmas gift early. That made me happy at the time. Riku had a hard life as well, maybe that was another reason for my attraction to him, and anything I could do to make him happy I tried to do. He pulled out white rope, and a lot of it, as I got up and locked my door.

On my 18th birthday, Uncle had given me a lecture, and a key to my bedroom door. He had a spare somewhere, but he told me he'd only use it if he thought I was in trouble. I sent him a little mental signal letting him know the door was locked, and I was okay. He sent back an acknowledgment, and an undertone of love and support. He probably had picked up what was happening in my surface thoughts; I was certainly excited enough, and approved.

Uncle kind of had to be accepting of all types of love, being a telepath, but I also like to think that was just the kind of man he was. I could go into a lot of detail on the mechanics of what we did that warm, lazy, honey-colored afternoon, but that's private details.

I stayed tied up until Uncle called us for dinner, loving every second of it. After a while, Riku took out my gag, and we sat talking, like we usually do. Riku was good, I only had faint rope marks, and they'd faded by the time I got dressed, this time in a pair of tight fitting jeans and a tank top. From that point on, I was hooked. Six months later, Riku had a job in town, and we were living together, with Uncle's blessing.

I'd taken his collar about three months after that first experience, and over the intervening time he taught me the ways of submission. To his credit, he really did teach me well, making me explore my own definition of what a submissive is, and took my likes, my dislikes and all that into account. After we'd lived together for a month, and he had established "The Rules" of what I was to do while he was away at work, he came home in a bad mood.

I greeted him as usual, kneeling at the door, holding out a glass of whiskey, no ice, and a small plate of biscuits. He took the whiskey, left the biscuits, and snapped at me to follow him. I stood, carefully, and followed him, setting the plate on the counter as I passed.

He marched straight to the basement door, ripped it open, and ordered me in. I was concerned, but kept my silence, not knowing how to react to this new face of him. I walk down the steps, trailing one hand on the wall. As soon as my feet hit the floor, even before my skirt for that day; he only allowed me to wear skirts; settled around my calves, he seized my arm, hauling me over to the padded steel chair that's riveted to the floor, and sits me in it. He goes, not to the usual drawer where he keeps all the toys, but to some dark corner where various old tools were kept. My blood drains as I see what he pulls out-barbed wire. An entire coil of it.

"M-Master? What are you going to-?"

"Shut up, you little whore! Bill McAllister saw you flirting with that checker at the market! You think you can leave me? You're mine, and what's mine STAYS mine!"

I stare at him, wide-eyed, and several things clicked into place. The way he always kept himself between me and any other men, the way he never allowed me to have any male friends. He was jealous. So afraid I'd leave him that he sought to make sure I had no way of doing that. Ever.

"Riku!" I start to get out of the chair, hoping my using his name will jerk him up short, but it only seems to make him angrier. He tosses the wire back into the corner, and then grabs me. Any other man would have caught my leg in their crotch right then and there, but he had trained me at least as well as my Uncle, unfortunately. He forced me back down into the chair, opting to use the leather straps riveted to the chair, rather than rig something with the wire, this time around. He gags me as I yell, not bothering to be gentle about it, then pulls down a switch, thrashing me thoroughly as I twist and squirm and scream.

From that night on, life with him was hell. If I dropped a cup, I got a beating. If he so much as heard a rumor I spoke to another man, it was a repeat of the first night. The final straw came one night when I tried to walk out on him. He grabbed me, and this time Uncle's training came to the fore, and I whipped a kick at him, but the past few weeks had taken their toll. I was out of shape, and clumsy, and he caught the kick easily.

I spent the next three days, bound to the steel chair in the basement with barbed wire. After the first day, he produced an egg-type vibrator, inserting it into my channel, and turning it on high. Over the next two days, every time I orgasmed, the wicked barbs drove into my skin. When he finally released me, I was a wreck. I'd lost so much blood he had to take me to the hospital.

As I lay in the bed, the doctor came in. A lady about my height, who reminded me strongly of my concept of what a mother should be. She frowns when she looks at me, and locks the door.

"Lass…" She says, then pauses "dammit, I don't care! Look, th' boss tol' me t' keep out o' it, but dammit, what's tha' son o' a bitch done t' ye?" she explodes, kicking the door. Only then do I notice the black choker around her neck, with a tiny silver lock charm on it. I look into her eyes, and finger my collar. I see something flicker there, recognition of sister for sister.

"He wasn't always that bad." I start, and at her gaze, shake my head "Look, I'm not about to say I still love him, or that I think this is going to get better. I was disabused of that notion the second time he thrashed me to within an inch of my life. It just matters; somehow, that you know this was all recent." I frown, not knowing how I know that. Maybe I was growing up after all, and apparently I'd said the right thing, because she nodded.

"Aye…if ye weren't willin t' help yerself, I'd be able t' do naught fer ye. So, lass are ye ready t' fight fer yer freedom? An It'll be a fight, no mistake. I've dealt with tha' son of a whore's other victims." she grins, coldly "if my Mistress were to get hold o' him, oh; tha would be a good day, no doubt." I thought to myself, at the time, that this doctor's Mistress had to be a very amazing woman indeed. Still, I was afraid. I'd spent nearly the last year of my life doing nothing but thinking of this man's pleasures. Nothing but loving him. Was I ready to throw that all away? _Could_ I throw it all away?

I wasn't sure. But I had to try. It was either that, or face a slow death at his hands.

I nodded to the doctor, and not wanting to wait, flung back the sheets and stood up, much to her dismay. She gave a startled exclamation and moved forward to stop me….to find that I was healed, almost completely. They hadn't even put a gown on me, and there I stood, before my savior, completely naked, without as much as a mark on me. I healed fast, even then, before I'd truly come to master my powers. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow, and I grinned impishly, letting her draw her own conclusions. This was going to be complicated enough as it is.

"No time like the present, and I want to do this where there are plenty of witnesses. Hope you have the Sheriff on speed dial."

I squeak and dive for the sheet as the door opens and a voice speaks from the other side, one I didn't recognize. "The Sheriff is already-oi!" he grunts as the doctor-I realize I didn't even know her name yet-forces the door shut on his arm.

"KNOCK, Seamus ye bleedin idiot! This is a lady's room!" the two curse at each other good-naturedly, and the Doctor motions for me to get dressed, which I do quickly, and she lets the sheriff back in.

"this is Th' Sheriff, Seamus O'Flannery." the Doctor introduces. Something looked familiar about her face, something that I couldn't quite put my finger on. She was handsome, and small, like me, but her face had proportions on a man that would be called "striking".

On her they made her look nothing so much as a hawk ready to tear into some poor fool. Except her eyes. They were the most intense blue I'd ever seen, and there was softness in them, a kindness. I put the mystery aside and studied the sheriff. He was standard police issue all the way, except he carried a sidearm.

"I thought policemen didn't carry guns over here?" I looked up at him, my eyes boring into his. I heard a whispering at the back of my head, but I ignored it. He smiled at me

"No, not in the cities, lass, but out here in the countryside where every farmer an' his granny has a rifle or shotgun of some sort? Aye. I carry a gun." I nodded; thinking of Riku's fighting ability. It rivaled my own, and I had a lot of skilled and intense conditioning working against me. I look up at him, dead serious.

"Keep it handy. This is going to get ugly. And Sheriff? if this goes badly, shoot me first. I am NOT going back to that bastard!"

He looks at me a moment. No warring of emotions on his face, just a steady consideration. Point for him. I think he was trying to decide if I actually meant to try and break free, or if I was just trying to suicide by cop. Apparently he decided on the former.

"Aye. My daughter is still in therapy. I won't let him take ye, lass."

"He's a hell of a fighter."

"I've taken street punks before."

"He's more than a common punk."

"Pro boxer?"

"My uncle trained him."

"Who's yer uncle?"

"Aidan O'Claire."

The doctor doesn't seem fazed, but the Sheriff gives a start, staring at me again

"You're Aidan's niece? Christ on a cracker, lass! If I'd know that I'd have brought an entire damn squadron with me! I used to work with that old dog back in the Army…I hope he's been training you as well, lass."

"He has, but I have Riku's conditioning working against it." I shake my head again, rubbing my temple, the whispers were getting louder. The doctor looks at me and narrows her eyes, but hold her peace. She looks back to Seamus and nods

"Well, Sheriff, this isn't goin t' get any easier th' longer we wait. Let's go."

Seamus nods, and She opens the door, motioning him through, then going through herself and motioning me to hurry. I was looking around the room for the source of the whispers. I almost asked her if she heard them, but she shook her head, motioning again. A fat man in a business suit was walk towards the room with Riku by his side, the two chatting amiably. He spotted me as I walked out, and bellowed the doctors name. I was so concentrated on the whispers I didn't hear it. I could hear what they were saying now.

_Everything you love, everything you know, all gone. and you did it. you're crazy, you know. I don't really exist, just as a part of you, and when the end comes, I'll kill you too, and then there will just be me…_

I shake my head again, the world snapping back into focus, and the Doctor and the fat man, who my memory tells me is the hospital administrator are in a shouting match. The Sheriff is starting at Riku, who's looking at me coolly.

"Come, love. Let's leave these two to their quarrel." He says, using his public Command voice, a sort of detached politeness that didn't fool me anymore. I raised my eyes to his, and instead of stepping forward obediently, I took a very deliberate step back and stared at him defiantly.

"No."

I spoke softly, but with the thundering silence that followed, you would have sworn I shouted. The Fat Man was sweating, wiping his head with a rag as he glanced at Riku.

"Now girl…you should really go with your husband. He's been right worried about you, he has." he licked his lips, shooting a hungry glance at me, his pig-like eyes taking in my lithe, athletic body.

_Bastard…._ I thought _So that's what Riku promised him. No. No, I won't be used again._

I stared both of them in the eyes, subconsciously shifting my weight in an old habit I'd picked up from Azumi-senpai in the Karate club, most of my weight on my back leg, my knees bent a bit, my body turned at an angle to them. Riku recognized it, and for the first time I saw something stirring at the back of his eyes. It was fear, fear that his hold was slipping. He licked his lips, and decided to take a risk. He put on a ferocious frown, and used his private command tone. The one he used at home, when I was in trouble.

"Pet. you will come. Now."

I almost crumpled, right then and there. If it weren't for the Doctor, I would have, but she was whispering something, over and over, and I finally caught it.

_Submission is not lack of will_

I caught her eye, and nodded, and straightened to my full height.

"Riku." It took everything I had to break training and say his name, but after that, it all came in a rush. "I am no longer yours. You have abused my body and mind for the last time, you arrogant, jealous, petty bastard. Sheriff, I want him arrested for kidnapping, holding me against my will, and torture." Seamus smiles, along with the doctor, and starts to move forward, telling Riku to be calm, and nobody had to get hurt.

Then all hell broke loose. Riku spun and kicked him in the collarbone, dropping the Sheriff instantly. the Doctor tried to step in, but Fat Man shoved her against the wall and held her there. She struggled against him, cursing him all the way, until he knocked her head into the wall and she dropped, conscious, but severely dazed. She was a tough woman, I'll give her that. I stood facing my two opponents, Fat Man, and my personal Satan, and I was angry as hell, but also, deep inside, hurt. Hurt that my Ri-chan, the only man I'd ever loved as much as Daisuke, could betray me like this.

And then, Uncle's carefully constructed memory webs and mental barriers chose that moment to fail, and I went screaming down into insanity. the world blurred, except for Satan and the Fat Man, and they were thrown into sharp relief. Riku dropped into a stance, but he was full of holes. Overconfident. I giggled, the stupid Bull, thinking that the she-goat was just a helpless ewe. I'd show him I had horns. He came at me, throwing form to hell, putting everything he had into one punch.

Why was he being so stupid? So slow? this wasn't sparring practice. Of course, I'd only ever fought him with a sword. Irrelevant, he's coming. Step aside, both fists to the ribcage. The Bull bellows, and his pig friend squeals in rage. Or fear. It's all the same with boar, they're less intelligent than bulls. he charges me too. why is my life FILLED with stupid animals? they both need to die, or they'll never shut up. I spin away from the boar, and take up my spear. It was a browning nine-millimeter. Not the first gun I ever held, but the first one I intended to use. It felt good in my hand. The boar is charging again. I leap, cart wheeling in the air above him, and when my spear is aligned, I thrust.

It was a glorious sound. Like wielding my own thunderbolts. I was Hera, and I'd stolen Zeus's thunder. It was my job to punish these foolish mortals who thought to become my Gods. I poured bolt after bolt into them, until they stopped moving. Then I crashed the floor, something on top of me. I start screaming and struggling, drawing on my ultimate power, like before….but the power isn't there. My eyes snap open, and it's the Guard Dog who has me pinned, and looking straight at me, speaking soft words, is an Angel. Or at least she looks like and Angel. Did Angels have black skin? and Horns? Maybe that's how the halo's stayed up….

I woke up the next day back in my room at Uncle's house. He's standing in my door, frowning at me.

"Why didn' ye call fer me, lass?"

I looked at him a moment.

"Uncle, what really happened? Why did I go berserk like that? there wasn't really and explosion at school, was there?"

He shakes his head, sighing and coming in the room, and he tells me everything. Everything I'd done, everything I was capable of doing. I sat there in bed, numb. I'd killed the two men I'd loved the most in my life.

"I can't stay here." I say numbly, staring up at the ceiling.

"Nay…..but there is a place ye *can* go. 'Tis a place I've only heard rumors of, but there are others like ye there. Maybe they kin help ye, better than I can." he gets up, and pulls a boat ticket out of his pocket, and again, my life changed.

I was going to Toxia.

Part Two: Toxicity and Discipline

The Coven

_Rough place._ I thought as I stepped of the boat. I could tell that just form looking at the city. There were bullet holes, deep cuts, even scorch-marks in the walls of the buildings. Markers of long ago battles that nobody remembered the reasons for. The first thing I saw as I stepped into the dock-house was a room fall of posters and graffiti bearing various names. I assumed they were factions within the city. I checked to make sure my weapons were in place, ignored the looks of the few people in the boathouse, and stepped into the streets, right as two people-or rather, a human-shaped machine and a werewolf-run right past me, the walking toaster shooting, the wolf dodging or absorbing the bullets, the wounds closing fast.

I stay in place for a moment to make sure they won't be coming back my way, then continue down the streets, not seeing the small dark figure with yellow eyes watching me as I go. I checked a small map I'd picked up, looked around at the buildings, then stuffed the useless bit of paper into my rucksack, following my ears and my nose to my destination. Haven.

There was another battle going on outside, which I skirted, then ducked into the safety of the bar, noting the "no fighting in the bar" sign on the doorframe, and a look inside convinced me it was enforced. No broken furniture, most of it high quality, and dominating most of the floor space, a dance stage with three poles, lit with neon lights, none of which had broken tubes or other signs of abuse.

I took an appreciative glance at the ladies dancing, then headed for the bar, ordering a whisky. Nobody bothered to check my ID. apparently they didn't care here, which suited me just fine. I turned my back to the bar and watched the room, just listening to the babble around me. One conversation in particular caught my interest.

"So, Will, how are you settling in?" It was a pretty blond, talking to a man wearing-of all things-bone armor, complete with a blood-red cape.

_Where are the rest of the Argonauts_ I thought to myself, tuning on their conversation, watching them from behind my dark sunglasses

"Well enough. You know, Jen, you really should check out the Coven." he smiles. It was a genuine smile, and he sounded sincere. Best not to fall for it, though. I did some information gathering of my own before getting on the boat. According to rumor, this place is worse than Uncle thought, but I had no choice. He trained me to fight as well as he could, he gave me everything he thought I'd need, and I couldn't go back. Sometimes I look back at my past, and see nothing but a trail of blood and bodies.

I snap out of my reminiscence as the man-Will?-stood up, smiling at his companion, their conversation apparently finished.

"I should get back to the Shoppe." he said, shaking a bit to settle that odd armor. I decided to follow him. Why not? It couldn't hurt, and this Coven hadn't seemed so bad from their poster in the dock-house. He was good, melting into the crowd as soon as he stepped out the door, but I was better. I waited for a break in the crowd, then started "walking the roof-road" as I read in a book somewhere. as soon as he broke out of the mob outside the bar, I dropped to the street a bit behind him, ducking down a side alley in case the noise of my heels hitting the pavement was heard. I straightened, and took a couple steps towards the street, when suddenly he spoke from behind me.

"Why are you following me?"

He asked causally, and I spun, reaching for one of my pistols. The sword tip about an inch from my face disabused me of that notion.

_shit_. I stood slowly, keeping my hands clear of my weapons

"I'm new in town." he opened his mouth as if to ask what bearing that had on anything, and I shook my head "I wanted to learn about this Coven you were talking about in the bar." he started, looking surprised that his conversation had been overheard. I grinned, disarmingly, raising my sunglasses so he could see the honesty, and mirth, in my eyes. As well as the tinge of guilt.

"Sorry for eavesdropping, but I've heard stories about this place, and if I weren't as quick on my feet, I'd have gotten run over by a werewolf and a walking toaster." I gave another quick, disarming grin "Figured it might be smart to get myself cozy with a group fast."

I was taking a risk in trusting him, he might still decide to kill me, but I had to trust somewhere, or I'd end up on my own. He chuckles

"Looks like Pack and Cybers are at it again. All right, follow me, and stay close. Got a name?"

"Call me Ryuu."

"Cute" he gives me a pirate grin and I blush as he turns and walks down the street, his hand close to his sword, eyes watching everything. I follow his example and keep my hands close to my guns.

I could flood you with a ton of details, but the truth is, I don't remember many of them anymore. I feel slightly guilty about that. Even though Toxia had its share of bad times; one of which has left me scarred, physically and mentally; there were good times as well. I made friends….then I found my family, my true family within the Coven. I still go back, now and again, see who's still alive. I got a letter from….well I guess you could call her my Mentor, Caighleigh. She's taken the family over, think I'm going to go wander back there when I can.

There is one thing worth mentioning.

Somewhere on my travels to Toxia, which is a long way away from Ireland, or anywhere else for that matter, thank God, I had found out the name of my mother. Siobhan O'Claire. I found a crystal, in which she'd implanted her final living message to me, telling me why she left me with my Aunt and Uncle, who I'd thought were my real parents.

I learned part of this story afterwards. The first part, actually. I had pushed myself past my limit, I did that a lot back then. I was young, inexperienced, didn't know how to do more with less. I was unconscious, I'd burned out, and fallen into the recovery-trance. There was a pair of my friends in the back of the Shoppe with me. My mother manifested to them and told them….something. To this day nobody will tell me what. Then she gave them a message-crystal, in her signature blue. As soon as I recovered, they gave it to me, and I spent another four days learning how to activate it. Her message was this:

_Hello, my daughter. *sad chuckle* I've seen the road you're on. You're following in my footsteps, little one, I know it. I'm proud of you. I'm sorry, my love…your father and I…we had to send you away. It wasn't safe with us. I truly wish I hadn't had to leave you with that bitch stepsister of mine, but Aidan couldn't have taken you. He told me part of what happened to you while you were with him….I would have spared you that if I could have, Gwynedd. That's your true name, by the way, even though my sister renamed you. Gwynedd Ryuushin Mazi O'Claire. I have to go now, my love. Know that I am watching you, and that you make me proud. I love you, my daughter. I always have, and always will._

Her image faded, and the message ended. I wanted to be angry, but I couldn't. The truth was….what she said made sense. If my life had been different, maybe I could have been angry, but I knew just how dangerous the world could get.

"Home"

I stepped out of the white Crown Victoria, mock-saluting the recruiter. I knew he was a hell of a lot nicer than my DI would be, but he'd genuinely watched out for me, making sure that the contract I signed was the contract I'd service under. Uncle had been SAS, in his younger days. I didn't have that option, but I had the Marines. After burning what was left of my past, I didn't really have a purpose in Tox. The city had changed, but I hadn't. I was nothing but a relic of a half-forgotten past there. So I said my goodbye's to those who still remembered, and drifted out of the city.

I ended up in some podunk little town in California, who's claim to fame was the "Garlic Capital of the World", even though 90% of the crops were grown in the next town over. It was there that I met the recruiter, quite by accident. He'd noticed me cleaning one of my pistols in the dark corner of a rather rough and tumble bar, and approached me. I had a fake identity, using the name my mother gave me, which very quickly got truncated to "Gwyn" so I didn't have to listen to a bunch of westerners and beach bums butcher the Gaelic pronunciation. I mean really, the fact that a 'dd' makes the sound of a very wet 'th' isn't really THAT hard to understand, is it? The next person who calls me 'gwyn-ed', or worse "Gwen-id" is going to get a pistol rammed in a not very nice place.

But I digress; after talking for a while, going through the paperwork, and presenting my very very authentic forgery of a Masters in Theology and Religious studies, I was enlisted in the US Marine Corps at their highest advanced rank, Private first-class. They still shipped me off to basic, but considering what I'd had to do to survive in Tox, boot camp seemed like it would be easy.

See how cocky I was? That would come back to bite me in the ass later.

So, after the recruiter dropped me off at the airport, I went to the place he told me, where a bunch of nervous-looking guys in various neutral-colored T shirts and bluejeans waited. After standing around for about twenty minuets, two people, one male and one female, both wearing fatigues came and took charge of us. They were professional, and no-nonsense, and just scary enough to make the wet-behind-the-ears guys cocky as well. I smirked. I wasn't sure how it would be in the states, but if my uncle's stories about the SAS were any indication, these two would seem positively kind in a few days. I was apparently the only girl in the group, which automatically made me stand out, and then I made the mistake of opening my mouth. I still had a very noticeable accent, you see. The woman-who as a bit shorter than I was, due to the three-inch heels on my boots-looked up at me with a sneer.

"Well, well. We have us an honest-to-god Irish girl among us. Well, paddy, hope you weren't planning on dancing any jigs anytime soon." then she looks at how I was dressed, and barks a laugh "and such a pretty thing too, dressed up all nice. Lets see you march in them heels, paddy. Double-time onto the plane, all of you! MARCH!" and so I double-timed it onto the plane, not letting on how much marching hurt in those boots. Don't get me wrong, I love those things, still have them somewhere, but practical for military life, they were not.

On the plane, we got the standard "you're not in Kansas anymore" speech. The pups looked kind of nervous at this point, and I was careful to imitate them. See how quick I learned? Don't stand out, or you get hammered, hard. I slept most of the flight, ignoring what the guys were doing, and taking the advice of our babysitters. It was the last untroubled sleep I would have for a very, very long time.

We hit tarmac five hours later. The boys were tired, they'd played the entire trip over, I was fresh and alert. Blending in was good, but being at the top of your game was preferable, I'd always found.

We hadn't even been off the plane twenty minuets when we met our new "mama". You're not really supposed to call them Drill Sergeants, Drill Instructors, or anything like that anymore. This gentleman, however, fit the description so amazingly well that for a second I had to fight the urge to look around for the camera, thinking I'd walked onto the set of a movie right as the plucky hero enters the training montage and proceeds to turn their boot-camp upside-down.

Hope you weren't expecting some amazing story of how I showed up people who were older, nastier, more experienced and better trained than I was. Truth is, what I learned in Tox was fine for the rough-and-tumble rugged individualism of the streets, but Boot was to teach you how to function as part of a team. From the smallest two-man scout mission, all the way up to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, they're all brothers and sisters.

There was a time, in the early twentieth and twenty first centuries when the Corps didn't accept women. Even when I enlisted, 2056 or so, there were damn few of us. The brass was still ironing out the kinks in involving women in it's operations, but there are other sources for that information, so I'll spare you the nuts and bolts details.

What you need to know, is that I had the exact same experience in Basic as any other Marine, which is to say, I got my ass tossed into hell on earth. I was a pretty sharp fighter going in. When I came out on the other side, I was a finely honed instrument of death.

There were a lot of things I had yet to get a handle on. My power, for one thing. Uncle had taught me how to keep it under control, so I ignored it. As my years in the Corps passed, and I gained in rank and got assigned to a spec-ops unit, I became to engrossed in the job that I forgot it even existed, and started building mental walls to block it off, on a completely subconscious level. Likewise with the memories that had left me scarred and roughened. Recent events have re-awakened them, hence the writing of this short little tale.

I went back to Toxia recently, to bring Caighleigh with me on a trip.

The buzz saw snarled into the false bottomed drawer, the salt cod whiteness of the sawdust pluming into the air like summer snow dancing in the honey colored afternoon. I mentally apologized to the noble old dresser. It had been a friend to my uncle for many years, but now it was time for it to confess to it's secrets. It had taken years to find out where he had hidden what I was looking for. Uncle was always good at hiding things, almost as good as I was at finding them.

At last with a final groan of denial and protest, the wood gave way, and there, gleaming in the moonlight, was a long, rectangular red box. I could almost hear, as though from very far away, a faint call. I shook my head, my looped and braided hair bouncing behind me. I turned to look at the red-head next to me as the snarl of the buzz saw died into nothingness.

The false-bottomed drawer sat to one side as I lifted out the box. I opened it, and there they sat, gleaming. The outer shell a matte black, gleaming like the carapace of a beetle. I set them down, looking at the cod-white interior lining, picking out the blood stains I never could quite get out. I squatted by the box, my heavy black trench-coat pooling by my heels, caressing them like a pair of old friends, my finger caressing the pressure switch, and the blades shot out of he gauntlets with a _snick-click_ that had once triggered insanity within myself...and terror within others. I stood away, glancing again at Caighleigh, then turning my back on the box. A single phrase slipped from my lips, barely a whisper, though it caused a cry of negation in my head which made me wince and grit my teeth.

"Burn them."

She said nothing as the flames she called as easily as she breathed leaped into life in her hand. She cast them at the box, they burned as white as the sun in the sky, hot enough to crack and melt the pavement around the box.

I sneezed as the smell of burning satin and the tang of melting steel filled the air, then gave a soft, rending sob as I fell to my knees, clutching my head, which now rang as a great bronze bell with a death scream.

These blades, which had caused so much grief, so much pain, had been tied to my soul by my insanity. They had been given life when I was just fifteen, a life rooted in the madness and grief of the only family I had ever known deserting me because of an accident of my birth. As soon as my knees hit the pavement, Caighleigh is beside me, whispering encouragement in my ear.

"Easy, Gwyn. This will be done soon. Hang on, you're stronger than them. You can do this, I know it..."

Her voice drones on, a buzz saw snarling and cutting through the scream, giving me something to anchor to. More had wanted to come, but Caighleigh was the one that had almost been harmed by them...she was the one that had stopped them before.

It was us or them, and we all knew it. The scream sounded for a few more seconds which lasted an eternity...and then, silence. Blessed silence filled my head, and I realized just how long they had been whispering in the back of my head, even after I had my Uncle hide them.

I stood, smiling at Caighleigh, who smiled back.

"Is it done, flashy?"

It was her nickname for me. She'd made it up as revenge for calling me calling her Sparky.

"Hell no. It's just starting." I look back at the charred remains of my past, then took a deep breath of the fresh Irish air, looking around the ruined farm where I learned what I needed to know.

"But you said..." she sounds alarmed

"It's the beginning of a new chapter, Caighleigh." I chuckle as she glares at me. It was so fun watching her freak out.

"Well I'm glad, Gwyn. I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do." I just nod, and stand, my coat swishing about my calves as I turn to walk down the path, saying as I walk past her

"Let's go home."

Recent events have brought with them the need to set this all down-I killed a good man. A friend. I'm very sure that with all those close to me that I've killed, there is a very special place in Hell for me. But I plan to make the most of the time I have left. I'll let you decide if you want to be part of that story.

You know where to find me, when you've made your choice.

Gwynnedd Ryuushin Mazi O'Claire

SSgt., S Company,

332nd Platoon, "Spook Squad". (Ret)


End file.
